Amano Shrimps: The Great Scavenger

By LitiAquaria - 9:37 PM

Amano Shrimp

Amano Shrimps- Caridina multidentata (or some LFS calls it Yamato Shrimp) were one of the first kind I introduced to my "Passionately Curious" planted tank. That was due to their extreme ability to clear out algae in planted tank. So introduced them at the initial stage, after tank was fully recycled would be beneficial to prevent algae bloom in the tank at that stage. Other than clear out algae, rotten leaves and even dead fish or snails have also been cleaned up. How great they are!

This is the video I recorded when an Amano Shrimp tried to pick out the dead snail body from the shell.

However, with their big appetite, they would look for soft leaves plants or disturb the smaller fish if they were hungry. I used to see they damage the star grass leaves and even climbed on Oto catfish and tried to grab them away!

That was how they munched on my delicate star grass leaves. :(

That being said, they would remain calm and peaceful should the tank has enough algae and food supply. So, if you see your Amano Shrimps keep running around and damage the plants or disturb other fishes, that means mostly they are hungry and looking for food. Just give them a slice of blanched zucchini or some smashed green pea, they will be alright. Hungry shrimps is angry shrimps! :)

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About me

When I was a child, I had an interest in keeping fishes, especially bettas and guppies. Just with a used beer bottle and a foxtail aquatic plant, you got it. Guppies at that time could be caught from the compound drains around my house. Together with my neighbor friends, we saved some money to buy bettas from a local fish shop. We treasured our fighting fishes and took well care of them before each battle. We even cried when our fighters lost the game. :P

Back to early 2016, my kid and my wife had shown an interest in having a small fish tank. I was thinking just to get a tank with a filter, a light lamp, some colour stones and some goldfishes. The next weekend, I went to the neighborhood library aiming to get a little more knowledge about fish tanks before I could resume my long-lost childhood hobby :P. On the bookshelf, I saw one about Goldfish and right next to it was “The Perfect Aquarium” by Jeremy Gay. I borrowed both and brought back home to carry out my research. The more I read “The Perfect Aquarium”, the more I was so into the world of planted tanks. Why everything seems so attractive and comprehensive when comes to planted tanks? Why there are so many types of filters? What are beneficial bacteria and why do planted tanks need them? People injected CO2 into the tank? Are they crazy? Everyone knows fishes need oxygen, right? So many questions popped up in my mind. I became so curious about planted tanks and very soon after, I started my first tank called “Passionately Curious”. And that is how the journey begins.

In this blog, I pen down the journey of not only my first planted tank “Passionately Curious”, but also other tanks and aquascaping related matters. You might find it helpful as I started as a noob and fresh beginner with so much curiosity! :)